Yesterday was an eventful day for Loch of the Lowes! It began with a surprise visitor to the nest at 00:15am; a Tawny owl! The bird landed on a branch overhanging the nest and the female osprey seemed completely unaware! After a few minutes of watching the nest, the owl left and circled the tree. This finally alerted the female to her nocturnal visitor and she began displaying some unusual behaviour, stretching her wings wide and alarm calling while following the movement of the owl with her head.

 

 

6 hours later the female, unfazed by her late night visitor, stood to reveal chick number two! Compared to it’s sibling the new arrival looked tiny in the nest, showing just how much the first chick has grown already. It’s no surprise really, with the male bringing in more fish than ever and the chick being fed between 7-13 times a day. So with 5 days between them, the tiny second chick has a lot of catching up to do! However, within 2 hours of emerging from the egg, the second chick received it’s first feed. And despite strong competition from its much larger sibling, it seems to be doing well.

 

 

After reviewing the days footage and comparing the colouration of the eggs, we believe yesterdays chick may have actually hatched from the third egg, meaning it could be egg number 1 or two remaining unhatched in the nest. We will keep our eyes peeled over the next few days to see if the final egg will hatch and complete the brood! Nature never fails to surprise us, so we look forward to seeing what’s in store for our osprey family, and will be sure to post any news as soon as it occurs.

 

Michelle and Chloe – Species Protection Officers